What exactly do seats with a cut out in the middle achieve?

Question

I've read that seats with a cut out are a good way of relieving stress on your sensitive areas. So we have seats like this:

My question is: from what I've read, the problem with cycling with bad seats is that it puts pressure on your perineum. This is the part that carries the nerves to the penis and testes -- but the cut out, which is in the middle will in no way reduce pressure on the perineum, which start off perpendicularly from a line joining the sit bones. So if you sit on the widest part of the seat, the perineum won't lie on the cut-out. As in:

Our intention is to protect the perineum; so I'd wager that a cut out in the middle doesn't solve that problem at all.

[I understand that this particular example of a saddle does seem to have some sort of a depression where the perineum would lie -but it's still not perfect, and my question also concerns the use of the cut out in the middle.]

Answer 1

The depressed channel running down the middle of the saddle is what is taking pressure off the perineum, not the actual hole in the middle. Some saddles merely have the channel with no actual hole.

Answer 2

All you need to prevent pressure on the perineum is adequate width for the sit bones to bear your weight. You can sit on a perfectly flat board without putting damaging pressure on your perineum, no 'cutout' is necessary. You just need a saddle that is actually wide enough for your personal hip dimensions and not have slapped a razor thin track racing saddle on your ride-around-town bike for fashion reasons. (In the case of 'gel' or foam saddles a gap there probably also gives the gel somewhere to go when you sit on it without having to push up on you.)

Once that goal is met assorted anatomical saddle designs and cutouts then make it comfortable to actually sit that way. Comfort is important so you don't shift forward to escape immediate causes of discomfort and ending up not placing weight properly long term.

Answer 3

Below is my saddle, using your marking colors. Saddle design varies and there is a lot more to a good saddle than just a cutout (or any other feature, really).

Done properly, a cutout does offer relief in the area of the perineum. However, due to anatomical differences (and saddle differences) not everyone needs one. If the area of the saddle supporting the sit bones were high enough (relative to the rest of the saddle surface) the cutout wouldn't do much. In many cases the cutout just makes the channel more visible. The channel may also do the work (when designed properly). There needs to be some support between the areas of the sit bone contact, or the saddle will simply flex (depending on material, etc) making the cut out or channel a pinch point.

Keep in mind that like people's sit bones, saddles vary in width. This means that for any one saddle, there will be variation in where people's sit bones come to rest, thus also variance where their other anatomy ends up (relative to the saddle parts).

There is also the fact that the saddle needs to be installed properly and positioned properly for any of it's parts to line up and do the work they were intended for.

Answer 4

The hole provides you with added comfort for longer rides. It helps to ventilate your genital area which increases air flow to that part. This in turn helps you sweat less and increases overall comfort in your "critical area".

Here is an article about this topic: https://bikeseatguide.com/bike-seat-hole-in-middle/